Fairy Tail: Beginnings
by UnstableAnxiety
Summary: Set 400 years before the events of Fairy Tail. The story follows a man named Damen, who was resurrected by the black wizard Zeref, his best friend. When he comes back to the land of the living, he notices that Zeref is different than before. Not being able to stand by Zeref's actions, he leaves and sets his own path. Unknowingly putting himself on a path of sadness and destruction.
1. Beginnings

Hey guys! This is an updated version of part 1. If you see comments saying something about a different format, know that it has been updated since those comments. I would have updated this sooner, but I have been busy and I was also not in the right mood. You see, when I write, I have to be in the right mood to write the specific chapter I am writing. If not, the chapter(s) would be mediocre, which is why I take a while to post. I like to make sure everything is top of the line quality. I like to post knowing that I tried my best and wrote something I can be proud of. But of course, I make mistakes just like everyone else. Which is why, if you enjoyed, or did not enjoy, let me know. Write a review, PM me, etc. I always love to hear feedback. It helps me improve my writing. Before I go on a tangent and write three pages about me loving to hear feedback and trying to improve my writing, I should let you guys read part 1 of my Fairy Tail Fanfiction. I hope you like part 1 updated, enjoy!

* * *

The sun sets on a small village in the distance. A man with shaggy hair walks out of his house and walks on the dirt road. He turns on the dirt street and heads to a house on the end of the block. While walking, he passes kids playing in the dirt and smiles at them. The kids smile back and go back to their games. The shaggy-haired man approaches the house and knocks.

No one answered so he decides to open the door and enter the house.

"Zeref? You here?" The man yelled.

"Yea, I'm in the back Damen." Replied Zeref.

Damen followed Zeref's voice to the back of the house. He entered the back room and saw Zeref at a table holding two strange colored liquids together.

"What are you doing Zeref?" Asked Damen.

"I'm trying to make a cure," Zeref responded.

"A cure? To what?"

"Well… I'm not sure."

Damen looked at Zeref, confused, "Then how would you make a cure to something when you don't even know what your curing?"

Zeref didn't answer. He mixed the two liquids together. The color turned black and made a small explosion inside the bottle.

"Dammit!" Zeref yelled, hitting the table with his fist, knocking books onto the floor.

Damen went up to Zeref, putting his hand onto his shoulder. "Zeref. It's okay."

Zeref pushed away Damen's hand and said, "No, it's not," and headed into the kitchen.

Damen followed behind asking, "It's for Natsu, isn't it?"

Zeref didn't answer.

"He's not getting any better?"

Zeref turned around to Damen with an annoyed look on his face. "No Damen. _He's_ not getting any better."

Zeref turned around and headed towards the sink to pour out the black liquid.

"Zeref. You'll figure this out. I know you will…"

"Whatever," Zeref muttered.

"Everything happens for a reason Zeref. The gods…

Zeref snapped, "Don't you dare talk to me about the gods. The gods know nothing!"

"Zeref, you should not…"

"I should not what Damen? Huh? We sacrifice half our crops, half of our animals, for what? For the gods to _'Watch over us?'_ Tell me Damen, have you ever seen the gods?"

"Say what you want about the gods, but they do exist. They do have power over us."

"The power to do what?" Zeref asked.

"The power to destroy our lives Zeref."

Zeref turned back to the sink, angrily cleaning out the reaming liquid out of the glass bottle. He turned to Damen and scoffed, "If the gods cure Natsu, I'll believe in them," and went back to the other room and to the table.

Damen followed Zeref back into the other room. He scanned the room around him. He saw broken shards of glass lying about, crumbled up pieces of paper on the floor, and Zeref was so pale that he looked like a ghost. _This is killing him._ Damen thought to himself. He turned to Zeref, "Zeref… I think you should take some time off."

Zeref looked up to Damen, "Time off?"

"I mean, you've been cooped up in here for weeks. You need to get out and re-evaluate the situation. Maybe you'll find out what Natsu has and how to cure it."

"No." Zeref replied.

"Zeref. You need to get out. Take a day for yourself."

"I can't Damen. Natsu is getting sicker by the day. At this rate, he'll be dead in a few months."

"I understand that Zeref, but this isn't helping. Being cooped up in here for weeks isn't making the situation any better. You need to get out and clear your head…"

Zeref looked down onto the floor. Contemplating if he should take a day off. "Who'll watch Natsu?"

"I will." Responded Damen.

"I, I still don't know."

Damen went up to Zeref and looked directly into his eyes, "Zeref. You know I won't let anything happen to Natsu. You and Natsu are all I've got."

Zeref looked over to Natsu's room and then back at Damen, "Are you sure it's a good idea?"

"I wouldn't suggest it if I wasn't."

Zeref didn't want to take any time off, but he needed too. Zeref sighed reluctantly, saying, "Okay, I'll take a day off. I'm trusting you on this."

"Don't worry Zeref, nothing bad will happen."

"I hope so…"

Damen smiled, "Like, what's the worst that could happen? A dragon coming and destroying our entire village?"

"Hah, that'd be unlikely. Dragon attacks only happen at the big cities. Small villages like us are not significant enough for them. The only small villages that are destroyed by the dragons are the ones who stupidly settle themselves next to the large cities."

Damen smiled, "The day I see a dragon is the day that pigs fly."

Zeref looked at Damen with a smirk, "They already do…"

Damen scoffed, "Not with magic though. Like they grow wings out of the side and start flying."

"Again. There are pigs like that."

Damen picked up the book that fell off Zeref's desk, "Do you want me to hit you with this?"

Zeref laughed, "Please do. Maybe I can finally get some sleep."

Both Zeref and Damen laughed. It felt good to laugh. Both Zeref and Damen have been busy with their lives that they couldn't remember the last time they hung out, just the two of them.

"Man…" Zeref said with a loud voice and a smile on his face. "It feels just like the good old times!"

"Yea…" Damen looked away from Zeref, his eyes heading towards the floor, "Just like the good old times."

Zeref saw as Damen's expression changed, "Oh… I'm sorry Damen. I didn't mean to remind you of that."

"No, it's okay. You didn't mean to."

Zeref went over to Damen and put his hand on his shoulder, "If you ever want to talk about it, you know I'm here for you."

"Yea…"

Zeref looked at Damen and said, "You _should_ talk about it."

Damen didn't answer. He hoped this clued Zeref to stop talking about it.

"You can't keep pushing it…"

"Just shut up Zeref!" Damen snapped. "Just stop bringing it up!"

Zeref stood there, not afraid, but determined. "You can't keep pushing it away when someone brings it up _."_

Damen turned his head to the wall, trying not to look at Zeref.

Zeref stood there, confident, saying, "I'm here for you. Always. You don't have to talk to me about it now, but I want you to know you can."

Damen turned his head back to Zeref and sighed, "I'm sorry Zeref. It's just… it's just that… I still see her every time I close my eyes. I see her beautiful pink hair ripped off by that _man._ Blood coming from her chest. And… and her eyes." Damen looked at Zeref, tears rolling down his face. "She looked at me Zeref. Her eyes were screaming 'Help me,' and I couldn't do a thing. Her last words were her choking on her blood. Then, what I did afterward… she would…" Damen couldn't finish his sentence. The memory of _that day_ was too much for him to relieve anymore.

Zeref hugged Damen saying, "You can cry all you want Damen. I'm here."

Damen hugged him back, crying and repeating, "Thank you Zeref. Thank you."

The hug ended and Damen wiped his eyes. They both stared at the ground, thinking about how simple life used to be.

Zeref broke the silence, "I know what you're going through. When Natsu's and I parents died, it felt like the world ended around us. Well… around me. Natsu was too young to remember them. I barely remember them… We were both so young."

Damen looked up at Zeref, asking, "What do you remember?"

"Not much. I barely remember their faces. Am I a terrible person for that?"

Damen stared at Zeref. Not knowing what it was like to lose a parent since he never knew his. But knowing what it was like to lose someone you love. "No. You were too young to remember. That's not your fault."

Zeref sighed, knowing what Damen said had some truth to it. "Maybe. But still, I should remember. For Natsu's sake."

Zeref stared back at Natsu's room. Zeref felt all he did was let Natsu down. He couldn't tell him how their parents look liked, and he can't save him. He felt like a failure. But little did Zeref know, Zeref was Natsu's hero. Natsu looked up to him. Natsu wanted to be like him. No… exactly like him.

Damen asked a question that surprised Zeref, "Why don't you draw them?

"Draw them?"

"Draw them. So, when Natsu's feeling better, you can show him."

"But I don't remember them that well."

"Just draw what you remember. That's all you can do."

Zeref smiled, "Maybe your right. It's not a bad idea."

"Of course, it's not. I thought of it!"

They both laughed again, happy they could still find some source of happiness in a world full of sadness.

Damen looked out the window and saw it was getting late. He turned to Zeref, "Well, I think it's about time I head on back home Zeref."

"Yea… it was nice to talk to you."

"You too, Zeref. I'll come by in the morning. And don't worry about Natsu. You get out and relax. Okay?"

Zeref smiled, "Okay."

Damen waved at Zeref and headed home.

Zeref was now alone. He felt isolated again, but he needed to get back to work. He headed to his table full of potions. He stared at the complexity of it. He didn't know what Natsu had, and that made it even harder to cure. _How can I cure something that I don't even know what it is?_ He grabbed two empty bottles. Right before he was about to fill it up with water, he looked over at Natsu's room. He couldn't let Natsu down any more than he already has. He put down the bottles and grabbed a pencil and a piece of paper. He started to draw his parents. He wanted to show Natsu when he cured him.

X

Zeref woke up to loud bangs coming from outside his home. Zeref quickly went outside to investigate the noises.

"What is going o…" Zeref stopped midsentence, not able to believe what he was seeing. He tried to move but he couldn't. All he could do was stand witness to the green dragon destroying his village.

Zeref fell to the ground, shaking, his mind on fire. Then he remembered, _Natsu!_ And quickly got up and ran to Natsu's room.

* * *

The dragon is destroying everything. Burning people alive, destroying houses. He sees a man go inside a house. The _same man_ he was sent here for. The dragon used his magic and summoned a barrage of jade-colored fire. The barrage hit the home of the man who ran inside. The house exploded into flames, leaving no survivors…

* * *

Zeref runs inside yelling, "Natsu! Get up! We need too…"

Everything turns black for Zeref. He couldn't feel anymore. He didn't know where he was. He laid there for who knows how long. Then… he woke.

Zeref woke up to debris scattered all over him. He climbed out of the debris and looked at the destroyed village before him. Everyone he knew was dead. But one question lingered, "How am I alive?"

As soon as he said that, a dark mist appeared in front of him. In that mist, an outline of a figure appeared. The figure comes out of the mist with a smile on their face, "Do you like the gift I bestowed upon you?"

Zeref steps back, scared, he stutters, "Wha… Your…"

"I'm glad you know who I am."

Zeref looks at the mysterious figure, confused and scared, not able to say a word.

"Hmmm? Why so quiet? The other day you were saying so much about me to the townsfolk. You told them that I didn't exist. That I'm a _fraud_. What happened to all of that?"

Zeref stuttered, he couldn't believe that a god actually existed and was right in front of him. "What do you want?"

The mysterious figure smiles, "Throughout my life, I have seen many things. The fall and rise of civilizations. Love, misery, sadness, sickness, life, and death. I have been prayed and worshipped too. Not once have I ever been ridiculed. You know who I am, and yet you mock me." The mysterious figure's tone changed from sarcastic to furious. "Call me a fraud. Say I don't exist. Now you see me…. Tell me, do I exist now?

Zeref stared at the mysterious figure, knowing what they had done. "You're… you're the one who made Natsu sick. Weren't you?"

The mysterious figure smiled again, this time even more menacingly. "Correct. You tried to make your people conspire against me. They paid the price of your insolence and so will you… I gift you the gift of immortality."

Zeref cautiously looked at the mysterious figure, "This… this isn't a gift."

"Oh, this is a gift, young Zeref. This is _your_ gift. You will now be able to live forever."

Zeref realized what this meant. Natsu was dead. Everyone he knew was dead. He didn't want to live in a world without them. Zeref turned to the mysterious figure, begging, "Just let me die… please…"

"Oh no. You can't die. Nothing in this universe can kill you."

Zeref fell to the floor. All he wanted was to die and join his family.

"I give you not only the gift of immortality but also the gift of contradiction."

Zeref looked up, defeated, "Contradiction?"

"You will soon find out." The mysterious figure disappeared in front of Zeref's eyes, leaving him alone once more.

Zeref looked around him, trying to find the where the mysterious figure went. He saw a patch of grass beside him, and in it, a piece of paper. He walked over to the paper and grabbed it. It was the drawing of his parents. The one he drew last night. The faces of his parents were burned out. Tears began to roll down his face as he crumbled the drawing of his parents and dropped it on the ground. Looking at where it landed, his heart stopped. He witnessed as the grass around him was dying, piece by piece, decaying into nothing. He now knew what the figure meant by Contradiction.


	2. Darkness

Hi guys and gals, sorry for the late upload. I have been really busy with school so I have not been able to upload anything. But don't worry, school ends this week for me and I plan on publishing every week. It will most likely be every Friday, but this part will be uploaded today (Wednesday, December 12, 2018. (But it may take 24-48 hours for it to be uploaded on so I'm not sure when it will be viewable) So, part three will be next Friday. Not this Friday. I hope you all enjoy this part, and like the new format. Let me know what all of you think, good or bad. I am happy to hear it so I can improve my writing.

Also, when you see a X in the middle of the page, that means it is a line break/time skip. What I mean by this is that wherever I put the X at, I felt that there was too big of a jump from one scene to another. So, I decided to put an X so you guys will know that there is a jump. If that doesn't make sense, let me know.

I hope you all enjoy and have a nice rest of your week. Goodbye for now!

Darkness. Emptiness. I saw nothing. I felt nothing. It was like I was floating. I don't know how long I laid there. All I remember was a hand reaching for me. Then like that, I woke…

Damen woke on a warm, hot sunny day. He opened his eyes and saw birds flying past him. He didn't know what kind of breed there were, he just saw their wings flapping. He laid in a green grass field. Damen looked around him and saw that the grass around him had died. Confused and disorientated, Damen sits up from the ground wondering where he is.

"Wha… where am I?" Damen asked, trying to adjust to all the new-found light.Damen's eyes start to clear up and he sees a figure right in front of him

A dark-tall figure approached him and smiled, "Welcome back."

Damen looked up at the figure. It was Zeref! He felt like he hadn't seen him in forever, even though it was just yesterday he left his home. "Zeref? Where are we? What happened?"

Zeref looked at Damen and began to explain what had happened all those nights ago. "A dragon attacked our home and destroyed everything, everyone. You died and I…"

"What do you mean I died!? What are you even talking abou…"

All of Damen's memory start to flood back into his mind. He fell to the floor and started shaking. Damen remembered the village, his home, what he did to those people who killed his only purpose in life, and the sounds of death hurling right at him

"You should start to remember everything now." Zeref states as he grabs Damen by the arm, pulling him up.

Everything felt cold for Damen, he was trying to comprehend what he just saw. "All…" Damen stutters, barley able to catch his breath. "All I remember was screaming. "And then…," Damen looked up at Zeref with tears coming out of his eyes, "everything went… went dark."

"It's okay now." Zeref said, trying to comfort Damen. Your safe. Nothing to be afraid of anymore." Zeref looks at Damen, "We need to start heading back to my camp. It's safer there."

Barley able to talk, Damen looks up at Zeref and whispered, "Ok."

Zeref and Damen started to head back to Zeref's camp. Zeref tries to comfort Damen, but it didn't help. Only one thought raced through Damen's mind. _I was dead? I was dead?!_

On the way, Damen sees that a whole town was destroyed. Remains of human beings that were burned to death. He looks at Zeref and he saw that Zeref wasn't even bothered by the skeletons. He didn't even care.

"What happened here Zeref? Why is everything destroyed?" Damen asked.

"Don't worry about that right now Damen. I will tell you everything soon enough. Right now, let's head home."

"Zeref! How can you tell me not to worry about it? People are dead!" Shouted Damen.

Zeref seemed to get more frustrated, but Damen needed to know. He couldn't accept the 'I'll tell you later' for an answer.

"I will tell you, just not right now."

"Zer…"

"SHUT UP!" Shouted Zeref as he started to levitate slightly. The ground started to break around him and pieces of dirt starting to orbit him _._ As Zeref shouted, a demonic voice started to possess him. It was like he was a completely different person than he was five seconds ago. Like a demon. "I TOLD YOU I WILL TELL YOU, AND I WILL. JUST. NOT. _NOWWWW_."

Damen eyes widened up. He felt fear he hasn't felt in forever. _What… what is he?_ Damen thought to himself, not being able to say a word.

Zeref drops to the ground and looks at Damen and sighs. "Okay!" Zeref said as he turns around, "Let's get going."

Damen didn't say a word while walking back to Zeref's camp. They walked for what seemed like forever. When they finally reached camp, the sun was setting. Damen looks around and sees a tent, a fireplace, and a wagon. _Not much of a camp_ , Damen thought to himself. While Damen looked around, he saw a capsule floating in the air. He began to move forward and saw something, no someone inside of the capsule.

"What is that?" Damen asked, still weary that Zeref might snap again.

Zeref didn't answer. Damen decided to move towards the capsule. Damen gasped at what he saw. He saw a child with pink-spikey hair.

"Zeref?" Damen's eyes widened as he turned around to look at Zeref. "Why… Why is Natsu in there?"

"I told you," Zeref said. "The dragon destroyed everything, and everyone." There was a silence that lasted for only a few seconds between them. And then…

"Why didn't you bring him back to life?"

Zeref looked at Damen. Wondering whether or not he should answer him. Then he sighed, "To bring back a human life," Zeref explained, while searching through a chest full of food for Damen. "You have to exchange a large amount of souls for it. To balance out life and death."

"Then how did you bring me back to life?" Asked Damen as he grabbed the food from Zeref's hand.

"For some reason, you were much easier to resurrect. In fact, I didn't even have to exchange a single soul for you."

Damen looked puzzled and confused. "What do you mean you didn't have to exchange a single soul for me? In fact, how do you even get these souls?"

"I'm not sure how to explain it," Zeref exclaimed. "Natsu's soul is in Hell. But your soul… well… it was in a different space altogether."

Damen looked at Zeref and said, "What does that even _mean_?"

"I don't know," Zeref stated. "I don't have all the answers right now. But I promise I will get them to you when I do." "For now, eat some food and go get some rest. Your body needs to heal."

"But…"

"Just do as I _say_." Zeref shouted.

Damen looked at Zeref, wanting to say something, but he was scared. He looked into Zeref's eyes and just saw darkness surrounding them. _He was different_ , he thought to himself. Confused and scared, he went to the tent Zeref pointed to, and went to sleep. But he didn't do much sleeping that night. The same thought raced through his mind. _I was dead?_

X

The next day, Zeref comes into Damen's tent to wake him up.

"Wake up!" Shouted Zeref as he walked out of the tent. "Let's get going."

Damen wakes up and gets dressed, and heads out of the tent. He yawned and asked, "Where are we going?"

"We need to get going."

"Where?"

Zeref ignored him and continued gathering everything for their next destination. Zeref was using magic to gather everything they had. The tent, the wagon, were all teleported away somewhere. Zeref then went up to Natsu's capsule, opened it, took him out and put a leash around his neck.

"Why are you putting a leash around his neck," Damen asked puzzled.

"I was able to bring Natsu's body back to life, while his soul is in hell," Zeref explained.

"So…"

"So this body is just a husk of Natsu. We still need to get his soul."

"About that," Damen continued. "How are you getting these souls? I saw all those villages destroyed and skeletons on the floor. I just can't help but think… well think that your killing them."

"No. Those people we already dead."

"But…"

Zeref snapped, "I told you _no_."

Damen looked at Zeref, cautiously trying to get an answer. "Zeref, I need to you to tell me. Telling me they were dead with no explanation doesn't make me trust you."

Zeref looked at Damen and sighed. He knew had to explain. "Those people died by their own accord. They were fighting a war, and they all died. I just collected the souls that remained behind."

Damen looked at Zeref and asked, "A war?"

"Yes. They were fighting for land or something. Some stupid reason. Doesn't excuse the fact that families were destroyed. The fighting got so bad that a mysterious man came and killed them all. To stop the fighting."

"Mysterious man?"

"Yes. He came by and used dark magic to kill everyone. When I arrived, the man was gone. And I collected the souls that remained behind."

"Who does this man think he is? Being judge, jury, and executioner?!" Damen exclaimed!

"I'm not sure," Zeref said softly. "But it had to be _done._ Now please let me finish gathering everything so we can leave." Damen wanted to ask more, but decided to leave Zeref alone and head to the back of the camp until Zeref was done packing.

About ten minutes had past and Zeref was done packing. Zeref grabbed Natsu and called towards Damen to tell him they were leaving. Zeref grabbed the leash around Natsu's neck and said "Come now Natsu. We are going."

Damen, Zeref, and Natsu were now on the dirt road. Zeref looked around and started walking a direction.

"So where are we going?" Damen Asked.

"West." Zeref stated.

They both looked at each other and then started walking. Not knowing what will come next, Damen got ready to see the new world he was in. Explore the changes that has happened since he _died_.

X

Sometime had past and neither Damen nor Zeref said a word to each other. They were walking for what seemed like forever. Damen kept looking around. He only saw a field for miles and miles. He didn't even know what they were growing. The sun was glaring down at them. _It must have been at least 100 degrees_ , Damen thought to himself. Damen looked down at the ground. Dirt. _We've been walking on dirt for hours!_ Damen yelled in his mind. The silence started to kill Damen. He had to break the silence. He took a deep breath turned to Zeref. "What did you use back there," Damen asked. To collect everything from the camp?

Zeref looked up from the ground and muttered, "Magic."

"You never had magic power before. How did you get it now?"

Zeref was pulling on the leash around Natsu's neck, urging his body to come back closer to us. "Well, it's a long story."

"We have time, don't we?" Damen suggested.

"I guess we do," Zeref relented.

Zeref explained that he had angered the gods and they turned him immortal and given him the curse of Contradiction.

"Contradiction?" Damen asked.

"Yes, the more I care about life, the more life around me will die. So, to counter that, I had to stop caring about life," Zeref said as they continued down the dirt road.

"How am I not affected?"

"Well, I'm not sure. Maybe it has something to do with the place I got you from."

"That is crazy." Damen exclaimed. There was a pause between the two of them as they walked down the dirt road. Damen then looked at Zeref with a giant smirk and said, "I told you not to talk bad about the gods."

"Oh my god. I don't wanna hear the 'I told you so' from you again." Zeref begged.

"Haha. As long as I am alive, your gonna hear me tell you 'I told you so' forever."

They both looked and each other and smiled. Damen doesn't know what has happened since he died, but he was glad to see that Zeref still had a sense of humor.

As they walked, one thing has been bugging Damen ever since he was brought back to life by Zeref. He decided to ask him, but he was hoping for Zeref not to answer him. "How long has it been since I died?"

"Thirty-one years." Muttered Zeref.

Damen eyes had widened up. "Wow. I can't believe I've been dead for so long. I didn't even know I was dead."

"Well, I would assume that is how death works." Zeref teased. Damen looked up at Zeref and laughed. They both did. It wasn't even a funny joke to Zeref. But he needed to laugh. Zeref didn't know the last time he had laughed.

As they walked down the dirt road, they saw a broken-down wagon. Beside it was a child and her mother. "Is everything ok here," Zeref asked.

"No!" shouted the mother. "Our wagon broke down."

"Our daddy went out looking for help, but he hasn't come back." Shouted the daughter as she hid behind her mother.

"Be quiet," the mother told the child.

"Well, we can go out and look for your dad." Suggested Zeref.

"We don't have any money to pay you." Stated the mother.

"That doesn't concern us. We'll be happy to help."

Damen was confused as Zeref said this. _All this time Zeref seemed to care little about life. Now he's ready to go out and look for a guy he's never met!?_

"Oh, my goodness," blurted the mother. "That would help us a lot! I don't know how to thank you."

"No need to thank me, just here to help. Which way did he go?" Insisted Zeref.

The mother recalled, "He went that way." Blurted the mother as she pointed towards the field.

"Okay, I'll go find him." Zeref turned to Damen and said, "Damen, why don't you and Natsu stay here while I go look for him?"  
"Are you sure," Damen asked, puzzled why Zeref would want to go by himself.

"Of course. You still need to heal." Zeref looked at the mother and the daughter and smiled, "Don't you worry. I'll find him." And like that, Zeref headed to where the mother had pointed. Disappearing into the field, like a ghost… walking through smog.


	3. The Necklace

Hey everyone! I hope you all enjoy part 3! Letting you all know that the tone is much different compared to part 1 and two. So, different that I decided to change the rating from K+ to T. If you all feel that this is not the proper rating, let me know. And also, make sure that when you are done reading, that you read the notes I have at the bottom. There is a lot of info. in there that I recommend you read. But do that AFTER you read because there are spoilers! (Not future spoilers though). But anyway, I hope you all enjoy and have a nice rest of your day. Enjoy!

Zeref was walking through the field for about an hour. He had been looking for the missing father. He kept looking up at the stars every now and then. He loved the way they looked. _They look beautiful._ He thought to himself. He didn't think many things were beautiful anymore. The world had rejected him, so he had to reject it. But the stars always accepted him. They wouldn't reject him, like the people in this world.

While searching for the missing father, a light appeared in the distance. Zeref decided to walk towards it, thinking that the father might be there. When he got close enough, he saw two men laughing and drinking around a campfire. He stayed in the bushes, trying to analyze the area.

Zeref eyes zoomed past the men, looking at a dark blue tent that was set behind them. It looked empty, but he couldn't be for sure. Next to the tent was a tree, where a man was tied up and appeared to be unconscious.

 _That must be the missing father._ Zeref thought to himself.

Zeref stood up, about to enter the camp, but something he overhead got his attention.

"Haha, pass me the bottle Herack." Laughed the man.

Herack passed the bottle to the other man and said, "You shoulda seen that old hag," chuckled Herack. "I grabbed her daughter by the hair and took her to Leoin. The mother was screaming, begging me to give her back her daughter. So, you know what I did?"

The drunk man looked up at Herack, eagerly waiting for a response.

Herack laughed and shouted, "I smacked her!"

Both men were laughing hysterically, spilling their beers onto the ground.

While they were laughing, a tall sturdy man walked out of the dark blue tent, heading towards the two drunk men.

"How much did Leoin give you for the girl?" asked the tall and sturdy man.

Both of the men stood up, hiding their bottles behind their backs.

"He uhhh…" Josia looked at Herack with a scowling face. "He gave me 30,000 Jewel!"

The tall man looked at Herack and snapped, "That isn't enough Herack! "We need more money!"

Both the men started stepping back, trying to stay out of Josia's reach. "I'm… I'm sorry Josia." Stuttered Herack. "He… he wouldn't offer me mo…"

Josia slapped Herack so hard that he fell to the floor. The other drunk man stepped to the side, trying to stay out of Josia's line of sight.

Josia started to kick Herack over and over until Herack begged for mercy.

"Please!" Begged Herack. "I'll get more money! I promise!"

"Oh, you'll do more than get more money!" Scolded Josia. "I am going to teach you a lesson on what happens when you don't get things done." Josia kept kicking and kicking without remorse, the other man just stood there, in horror.

"When I tell you to do something, you do it! _UNDERSTAND!"_

Herack didn't answer. A pool of blood started to envelop him. Josia looked down on Herack's face and spit on it.

"Can't do a single thing right," Josia Muttered.

There was a pause between Josia and the other man. The man was too afraid to look at Josia. He was hoping Josia's wrath wouldn't come on him.

"Neither of you can do a single thing right!" Shouted Josia. "You will learn what will happen when you disappoint me!"

Before Josia could say anything else, Zeref stepped out of the shadows. His eyes were red with rage. He looked at the two men, and then down at Herack. Zeref eyes widened, his eyes were now glowing.

The other two men stood there, confused who this _mysterious man_ was. Zeref took his hand and reached into his pocket.

Josia pulled out his sword and yelled, "Who are you!"

Zeref didn't answer. He grabbed a necklace out of his pocket and pointed it at Josia.

"Well?" Insisted Josia. "You going to say who you are, or do you want to die?"

Zeref looked at Josia with his angry red eyes and said, "Do not blame me for your fate. You can only blame yourself."

"What are you even…" Before Josia could finish his sentence, his body burst into flames. Josia was screaming, begging for the pain to stop. The other man looked at what was happening and fell to the floor. He didn't know what to do. He felt his body burning up, he couldn't breathe anymore. He looked at his hand as it burst into flames, then his whole body burst into flames. Both of the men were screaming at the top of their lungs. They were feeling an immense pain not many feel, and those who do, never survive. Their screams echoed throughout the night, like wolves howling at the moon.

Josia and the other man kept burning until a bright light came out of their body, floating towards Zeref's necklace. The light went inside Zeref's necklace and then Zeref shut the necklace. Their bodies fell to the ground in pieces. The flames were now gone. The only thing left was their bones. They were black and smoke was still coming out of them.

"Don't blame me for your death. You brought this on yourself." Zeref repeated.

Zeref went up to the man, using his magic to wake him up.

The man woke up, jumping at Zeref screaming, "Please! Please Don't hurt me!"

"Don't worry," Zeref assured. "Your safe now." Zeref untied the man and proceeded to help him up.

"Your…" Stuttered the man. "You're not here to kill me?"

"No, I'm here to save you."

"Who are you?" The man asked.

"I was sent by your wife to come and find you," Zeref responded.

"Edna! Edna sent you!" Blurted the man.

"Yes, she and your daughter are worried sick about you."

"What about the men who kidnapped me?"

"Don't worry about them," Zeref assured. "They have been taken care of."

"Oh, thank you! Those men kidnapped me and beat me. Demanding that I give them money! I tried to tell them I had no money, but they wouldn't listen. I hope they got what they deserved!"

"Don't you worry, they got what they deserved."

"Thank you. Thank you so much. I don't know how to repay you."

"We can talk about payment later, for right now. Let's get you back to your wife."

"Sounds good to me! By the way, my name is Adrian."

"Nice to meet you, Adrian. Now, let's get back to your wife and daughter before they start to worry more."

"Alright, let's go!"

Both Zeref and Adrian left the camp, leaving the bones to be found on a later date. That wasn't the first case of people being burned alive, and it certainly wasn't the last. They were so many cases of people being burned alive that it was eventually reported to the magic council. This would lead to the nationwide hunt to find the wizard responsible. When the wizard was found, thousands of troops were sent by the magic council to defeat him. That battle ended up being the second bloodiest massacre in the land of Fiore. Since that day, that wizard was titled the first Black Wizard, and none dare to step into his path. None but one.

They found their way back to where everyone was. Zeref and Adrian walked out of the field and saw Damen sitting on the ground holding Natsu's leash. Natsu was staring at the moon. Both the mother and the daughter saw as they returned.

"Adrain!" Blurted Edna.

The daughter turned to where the mother was looking and her eyes opened with joy, "Daddy!"

Damen got up, tying Natsu's leash to the broken wagon. He headed towards Zeref, but something didn't feel right to him. He smelled something that smelled familiar to him. He looked at both Zeref and Adrian. The smell was pungent. He knew this smell was important, but he just couldn't put his finger on it.

"Oh, thank your kind soul. How can we ever repay you!" Edna asked.

"We can talk about that later." Insisted Zeref. "I'm just glad I was able to help."

The daughter ran up to Zeref and hugged him. "Thank you so very much for finding my daddy." Zeref smiled at the daughter and said, "No problem."

While the family was celebrating the fathers return, Zeref looked at Damen and asked, "Oh, Damen. I seemed to have dropped my scarf in the field. Could you go and fetch it for me?"

Damen looked at Zeref, annoyed that he could have dropped something so big. "Sure, no problem." Damen turned to the family and smiled, "I'll be right back." And headed into the field, looking for Zeref's scarf.

Zeref saw as Damen left and turned to the family. "Well, about your payment."

"Yes! Anything you need! Assented Edna.

Zeref looked at the family as he reached into his pocket. He took out his necklace and said, "Look at this."

Damen was searching the field for Zeref's scarf. While searching for the scarf, he was trying to figure out what that smell was from. He just couldn't figure out what it was. _What was that smell? I know I've smelled it before!_ Damen thought to himself.

Not long past until Damen found Zeref's scarf. It was hanging on a rock like someone purposely put it there. Damen didn't think much of it though. He grabbed Zeref's scarf and started heading back. While he was walking, he saw a bright light coming from Zeref's location. It was so bright that it blinded him, making him fall on his back. The light only lasted for a few seconds.

Damen got up and asked, "What was that?" Without wasting any more time, he started running back to Zeref. He knew something had happened. While he was running back, he felt something surrounding him. Then _BOOM_ , he heard a loud explosion. Damen stopped in his tracks. He didn't know what was going on. Now he was running even faster. He had to get back quickly.

When he got back, he saw Zeref staring at the ground. He ran up to him and asked, "What happened!?"

"Nothing," Zeref answered.

"What do you mean nothing? I saw a bright light and heard a loud explosion! What the hell was that?!"

"I said it was nothing."

"Bullshit! What happened? Where are Adrian and his family?!"

"I teleported them to safety."

Damen looked at Zeref with disbelief. "What do you mean you teleported them?"

"They asked me to teleport them to their home, so I did."

"And they just left all their stuff here?"

Zeref didn't answer. He just kept staring at the ground. Damen knew something wasn't right. Zeref had been hiding something, and Damen needed to know what.

Damen grabbed Zeref's arm and turned him around shouting, "Zeref! "You need to tell me what is going on. You can't keep hiding the truth from me!"

Zeref looked at Damen with a cold stare. He seemed angry that Damen kept asking questions, but Damen had enough of Zeref's lies.

"Tell me Zeref." Damen insisted. "I need to know the truth."

"I have told you the truth." Zeref insisted.

"Zeref… you haven't told me anything. You've only told me what you wanted to tell me."

Zeref seemed even more annoyed know. He looked up at Damen and said, "Damen, you need to stop. When I tell you to shut it, you shut it!"

Damen looked straight into Zeref's eyes. He wasn't backing down, and neither was Zeref.

A gust of wind blew towards Damen, throwing that pungent smell right into his face. It was so strong that it almost choked him. Then… he remembered… he remembered where that smell was from. It was from the destroyed village!

Damen looked at Zeref with fear, he backed away from him. Damen knew what Zeref had done.

"It… it was you!" Stuttered Damen.

"What are you even talking about?" Asked Zeref.

"You… you destroyed that village!" Damen shouted. "You told me a man came by and… but… but… it was you!"

Damen charged at Zeref yelling, "You killed them! You killed those people!"

Zeref grabbed Damen by the head and threw him against the wagon.

Zeref walked towards the wagon shouting, "You don't know what you're talking about."

Damen got up. He was in immense pain. His arm was broken, but he continued to walk towards Zeref.

"You killed those people. You killed Adrian and his family. How could you do that?! Damen screamed, trying to lung at Zeref again. Zeref grabbed Damen's throat and screamed, "You don't know what you're talking about."  
Damen couldn't breathe. He felt the life within him withering away. But before he passed out, Zeref let go.

Damen fell to the ground, coughing and wheezing, trying to catch his breath.

Zeref looked down at Damen. Damen could feel the energy coming out of Zeref. It was death. Zeref was surrounded by it. Damen looked up at Zeref. He couldn't believe what Zeref had become. He put his arm on his leg and pushed himself off the ground. Zeref and Damen were face to face. Damen took in a deep breath and said, "You're a monster."

"Don't you dare call me that." Zeref cautioned.

"You're a monster!" Damen yelled.

"No, I'm not!"

"You're a murd…"

Before Damen could finish his sentence, Zeref lunged at Damen, stabbing him through the stomach.

Damen's eyes widened, he looked down at his stomach and saw Zeref's hand through it. He looked back up, coughing blood into Zeref's face.

Zeref threw him on the ground. Tears coming out of his face. "You're just like the rest. You all _reject_ me!"

Damen couldn't say anything. He couldn't breathe. Zeref threw him on the ground. Making Damen lay in a puddle of his own blood. He could feel himself fading away. Zeref walked towards Natsu, grabbing his leash. "Come now Natsu, we must get going."

Zeref looked down at Damen crying, "You did this to yourself. We could have walked this world together, but now… now you will die."

Both Damen and Zeref started at each other. Zeref pulled Natsu's leash, "Come Natsu." Zeref and Natsu started to walk away from Damen. Damen tried to call out for them, but he couldn't. His vision was fading. He saw as Zeref and Natsu disappeared into the night. He tried to stay awake, but he couldn't. His vision kept fading until… until everything went black. Leaving his body to lay there, in the night, to be devoured by nature itself.

Wow! Now that was a ride. At least for me. It honestly is amazing how this part has turned out. I came in here with a plan but that completely got thrown out the window. You see, every time I write a part, I know how I want it to turn out. But every time I have written a part (except for part 1), the ending has changed. For example, part two was meant to be much longer, but then I decided to let Zeref go look for the father alone. Instead of Zeref and Damen going together to go find the father. Then for this part, it was supposed to end completely different than how it ended. Different, place, time, everything! I don't want to say much because it might spoil somethings. But I honestly don't know anymore. I know how I want to end this fanfic, but now a lot has changed. Now the ending may turn out different. And I think that is a good thing. It keeps me on the edge of my seat. I get to go on a ride with you guys. Well, now I have to go. I am currently on vacation. It was a last-minute vacation that I was invited to. So, this means that I won't be uploading anything next Friday (December 28,2018). I will however, upload the next-next Friday (January 4, 2019). I feel like there is a better way to say next-next Friday. But I honestly can't think anymore. I've been writing all day. After all, I am on vacation. But anyway, I hope you guys liked this part and I hope you guys like the new darker tone. I love feedback. Good or bad. They both let me improve myself and my writing. I want to thank everyone for reading my fanfics, it means a lot to me. But anyway, I don't want to keep you. Hope you all have a wonderful rest of your day, and hope to talk to you guys later! Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!


	4. Friends

We start off in a poorly lit cave. Blood everywhere. We see three young adults fighting off small green goblins. There's a guy in all light-gray armor, a she-elf, and a young human man.

The young human man is named Jonathan. He's barely eighteen. He has light red hair and is almost six feet tall. Like his hair, he wears red colored light armor. It protects him from most incoming attacks, and the ones that he can't withstand, he dodges.

Then we see a young seventeen-year-old woman named Nelly. She has pink hair and is almost as tall as Jonathan. She is a strong independent woman who prefers to use a bow than a sword but has a sword nonetheless. She is very fast and _AWESOME!_ She comes from a dark past. Her family was murdered during a home invasion, she was 14 at the time. Since then, she had been on her own, until she found Jonathan and Heavy. She's a she-elf. Elf's are a dying breed. Most of them have been hunted and killed, and the rest live in fear.

Then there's heavy. He wears a giant suit of armor. No one has ever seen him without that armor. No one even knows his real name. All we know is that he is a guy, because of his voice. And he never leaves his armor. He sleeps in it! Ain't that weird?! Well, that's it. Short, right? Well, like I said. There isn't much we know about him.

And last but certainly not least, there's me. Shell. Or Shelly. I've got blue hair and half the size of Nelly. I'm thirteen, and I've been with these guys for eight months. I have always been by myself. I was a lost girl that no one wanted. I was left on the streets by my so-called "Parents." I found people who took care of me for a while, but they eventually left me as well. It was hard for me to trust anyone after that. I lived that way for a while. For a long while…. Then I found these guys. They took me in on the brink of death. Since then, I've been with them going on all sorts of adventures!

You may be asking what we're doing in this cave. Well, I'll tell you! We are here trying to take down the goblins that have been living in this cave. They are vicious and vile creatures that kill anything they see and kidnap young girls. These specific goblins, however, have been terrorizing a nearby village for months. We're here to stop them and get a large pile of Jewel along with it.

Not many goblins are left in the land of Fiore. They are being wiped out by order of the magic council. But it's so dangerous that many don't dare even to try to take down a goblin camp. Not us though. We'll do anything for some Jewel.

* * *

"Come on!" Jonathan yelled, turning back to the others. "We're almost to the end!" While Jonathan had his back turned, a goblin had sneaked up on him through the shadows. Leaping at Jonathan with his sharp dagger.

Heavy tried to warn Jonathan, but with no avail. "Jonathan! Behind you!

Jonathan turned around, his eyes widened as he saw the goblin lunge at him with its dagger. He tried to dodge it, but he wasn't fast enough. But, before the goblin could push his blade through Jonathan's head, an arrow came shooting by, going right through the goblin's chest. Jonathan looked back and saw Nelly shooting goblins with her bow. She ran towards Jonathan with an angry look on her face. "You know. Instead of telling us the obvious. Why don't you just pay attention?"

Jonathan looked at her, trying to speak. His face turned red with embarrassment, "Sor…Sorry. I'll pay more attention."

Nelly looked at him and rolled her eyes. "Don't say you will. Do it!" Jonathan nodded as Nelly reached into her quiver and grabbed another arrow. "I don't want to see you dead. Ok?" Nelly said with a low sympathetic voice that only Jonathan could hear.

"Ok! I'll be more careful."

Nelly smiled and continued down the cave, Jonathan following behind her.

The goblins were being pushed back to the end of the cave. "Retreat!" The goblin leader commanded. "Protect the queen!" All of the goblins were going deeper into the cave to protect their queen.

Heavy came in, swinging his ax at the remaining goblins. "Come on guys. Can we have one mission where you two don't get at it?"

Nelly looked at Heavy and scoffed, "Once Jonathan stops being an idiot."

"Well, I guess that will be never," I said, running into the cave with my diamond encrusted sword.

Jonathan smirked, "It's about time you got here Shell.

"I was making sure that there were no other back entrances where the goblins could escape from.

"Good job Shelly!" Nelly shouted as she ran towards to the end of the cave.

Shelly smiled. She always thought of Nelly as a big sister. All she wanted to do was make her happy. "Thank you, Nell!"

Heavy came beside Shelly and Jonathan and said, "Let's go." And headed towards Nelly's direction. Jonathan and I looked at each other and nodded, heading deeper into the cave.

We reached goblin HQ and hid behind a rock to avoid detection.

Nelly peeked out from behind the wall, eyeing the queen, "The queen appears to be doing some dark magic."

"If we take out the queen, the others will die," Jonathan explained.

"It's not the queen we need to take out, it's the staff she's holding." Nell corrected. "If we take that out, _then_ all the goblins will die." Nelly turned to us and asked, "Everyone ready?"

We all nodded at each other and started attacking the remaining goblins.

The goblin queen pointed her staff at us. She was trying to conjure up black magic. "Kaa Ne To Lo _Hah_ " When she finished her incantation, a black mist started to dispense out of her staff, coming right at us!

"Don't breathe it in!" Nelly shouted, covering her mouth.

We all held our breath, but it didn't matter. The mist was everywhere. It was getting harder for us to hold our breath. I saw Jonathan fall onto the floor, struggling to keep his mouth shut. Heavy looked at us. He couldn't let us die. He got his ax and ran towards the queen, stabbing her through the chest, and breaking her staff in half.

The mist disappeared around us. I ran up to Nelly, asking if she was ok.

"You okay Nell?!"

"I'm fine Shell. Don't worry."

"I'm fine too," Jonathan said coughing. "Thanks for asking."

The goblins around us started to disintegrate into dirt.

"Wow. That was close," I said.

Nelly grabbed the broken staff and looked it over. She found a light blue crystal. She pulled it off from its place and placed it into her pocket. She turned to us and said, "Let's go."

We all followed quickly behind her. None of us wanted to be trapped in this disgusting cave anymore. We were all excited to receive our payment. 50,000 thousand Jewel! That's a lot of money.

By the time we reached the entrance, Nell was already placing dynamite around the cave opening. She wired the dynamite to a dynamite plunger box. "Everyone, get a safe distance back." All of us nodded and proceeded to hide behind a big rock. Nell rolled the wire long enough to hide behind the rock with us. Once she was a safe distance back, she pushed down on the lever. What followed was a loud explosion and a sigh of relief from Nell. "Now no one will ever go in there."

Jonathan grunted, "I don't see a point to blowing up the entrance."

Nelly shot Jonathan a look and said, "We _do_ this because the death of a goblin queen leaves behind dark energy. If someone were to harness that dark energy, well… then they could be as potent as the goblin queen. Maybe more."

Jonathan didn't say anything. I guess he was embarrassed that Nelly scolded him.

"Let's get back to town and collect our reward."

I grabbed Nelly's hand and smiled, "Sounds good Nelly. Let's get going!"

X

We arrived at the town by sunset. It was a quiet-quaint town. Not a lot happens here. Other than goblin attacks, and maybe an occasional dragon attack; but those rarely happen at small towns like this. When we entered the town, we went straight for the village leader. His house was made out of wood. The wood looked like it was coated in silver. It shined brighter than a diamond.

Nelly went forward and knocked on his door.

After a few seconds had passed, the village leader opened his door with a bright smile. Nelly reached into her pocket and took out the crystal she took from the goblin queen's staff and handed it to him.

"Wow. I didn't think you guys could do it,"

"Well of course we did. We are the best around." Jonathan blurted.

"Well, thank you! Those goblins have been attacking us for months." We all smiled at him, glad we were able to help. "Let me go get your payment." The village leader headed deeper into his house to retrieve the payment.

Jonathan turned to Nell and asked, "Where are we going to stay for the night?"

"I guess we could stay here. Just for the night." Nelly responded.

"That doesn't sound like a bad idea."

The village leader came back with a bag full of Jewel. "As we discussed, 50,000 Jewel."

Nelly grabbed the bag from him and said, "Thank you. And by the way, is there a place for us to stay the night?"

"Why yes! We have an inn called Jonah's Inn. Tell him I sent you and he will give you a room for free."

"Oh, you don't have to do that."

"Don't you worry about it. Now, if you will excuse me. I have to wake early in the morning, and if I don't go to sleep now, I won't get up on time." He smiled at us and closed his door.

We all turned to each other and sighed. I could tell everyone was happy to finally get some rest. It's hard work to kill goblins. We left the village leader's doorstep and started looking for the inn. _I wish he told us where the inn was at. That would have made everything easier_.

It was a small-boring old town. Most of the buildings were made out of old rocks. Not surprising; this is a farming town. Not much money to go around to build quality houses.

After walking for a little while, I spotted the inn next to a bar named Howe's. "Look Nell! I found it!"

"Good job Shell. Let's go inside."

Nell pushed open the wooden door. Once we got inside, I saw a weird looking painting of an old woman. She creeped me out. Nelly saw this and smiled, "Don't worry Shell. Nothing to be afraid of. It's just an old painting." I smiled back but, it was still creepy though. _No wonder there wasn't anyone in the lobby._

Nelly looked around and saw a man behind a desk smiling at them. Nelly went over to him asking, "Are you the manager?"

"Yes, I am. Names Jonah Hill. How can I help you?"

"We were told by the village leader that you could give us a room to stay for the night?"

"Oh, he did? Why would he say that?"

"I'm not sure. But we are happy to pay for the room if needed."

"Wait…" The innkeeper eyed all of us from head to toe. "Are you the young lads who took down those goblins?"

"Yes, that was us," Jonathan replied.

"Oh! I see now why he said that. Of course, you can get a room for free!"

Jonah went over to his key rack and grabbed two keys off the wall. He handed both of them to Nelly with a huge smile.

"Room 7 and room 14. Enjoy! And thank you for saving our little old town."

Nelly grabbed the keys saying, "Thank you," and bowed. She gave the room 7 key to Heavy and put the other in her pocket. I followed Nelly up some really shiny wooden stairs. Nell read the signs on the top of the stairs.

 _"_ _Rooms 1-10. GO LEFT."_

 _"_ _Rooms 11-20. GO RIGHT."_

"Alright, guys. I'll see you all tomorrow at 8 a.m. sharp! Got it, Jonathan?"

"Yes, Nell. We'll be out on time!"

Heavy and Jonathan said their goodbyes and headed for their rooms. Nell and I headed right, to room 14. We saw our room. _Room_ 14, it said. Nelly put the key into the keyhole, opened the door, and went inside the room.

I walked into our room, and my jaw dropped. I have never been in something so nice. We usually sleep on the side of the roads or some broken down houses.

"Oh my gosh, Nelly. This place is so beautiful, and the beds look so comfy! And look we have a fireplace and a window! I've never had a room with such a cool view. What you think Nell?"

Nelly didn't say anything. Maybe she didn't hear me. "Nell? Don't you think this place is beautiful."

"Yea. I guess." She sounded so monotone. _Did I do something wrong? Or is she just tired? I don't want to make her mad. Guess I'll just go to the window._

I went over to the window. It looked so beautiful at first. But when I _actually_ looked at it, it was just a field. _This is soooo boring!_ _I thought the view was something cool. Ughhh. I wonder what they're growing though_. I started out the window for a few moments. Right before I was about to step away, I saw a bright light. No. Two bright lights! They were there for only a few seconds, then they disappeared.

I turned to Nell and questioned, "Did you see that?"

"See what?" She replied.

"The light. In the field."

"No, I didn't see anything Shelly. Now c'mon, let's get ready for bed."

"But…"

"Just go to bed Shell."

"Fine!"

I took off my armor and placed it right next to the bed. I put my sword on the nightstand and went into my bed. Nelly turned off the fireplace and proceeded to her bed.

"Goodnight."

"Night Shell."

They both closed their eyes. Nelly fell asleep first. I couldn't sleep though. Those lights bothered me. Was someone in trouble? Or were they just some random lights. I eventually fell asleep fifteen minutes later.

 _BOOM!_

I jumped up, my eyes widened. My heart was pounding, and my adrenaline kicked in. _What was that?! Did it have to do with those lights?_ I jumped off my bed and ran towards the window. I think my running must have woken up Nelly because she woke up not five seconds after.

"What are you doing Shell?"

"Did you hear that Nelly?!"

Nelly yawned and said, "What noise?"

"The loud BOOM! You didn't hear that?"

"Shell, just go back to sleep. There was no noise."

"But…"

"Just go to sleep!" Nelly snapped. "There's no noise. Now go to sleep!" Nelly grunted, throwing her covers over her. _God! Can't this girl just go to sleep?_ Nelly thought to herself.

Tears started to roll down my face.

Nelly sighed. She came up to me and put her hand on my shoulder. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make you cry." Nelly took her hand and wiped the tears from my face.

"C'mon Shell, I'm sorry. I'm just exhausted."

"I heard a noise, Nell."

"I know. I know." Nell repeated. "Once morning comes, we'll go around and ask some of the townsfolk if they heard anything. Ok?"

I rubbed my eyes, quietly saying, "Ok…"

"For now, go to sleep." Nelly picked me up and put a blanket over me. She gave me a big kiss on my cheek and went to bed.

"Goodnight Shell."

"Goodnight Nelly."

X

The next morning…

Nelly and I took our showers and put our armor back on. I grabbed my sword and put it in my scabbard. Nell did the same thing and said, "C'mon," and opened the door to our room and went outside. Nelly was surprised though, Jonathan and Heavy were already out there waiting for us.

"I'm surprised your awake Jonathan." Nelly laughed.

"We wanted to be up early."

"Well then, let's get going." Nelly smiled.

Heavy and Jonathan started heading down the stairs. Nelly began to follow behind them, but I quickly pulled at her arm. "What about the…"

"We'll ask them. Don't worry."

We both went downstairs and approached Jonah, the innkeeper.

Jonah saw us approaching and turned to us, "How'd you like your night?"

"It was great." Jonathan Replied.

"I'm glad. And again, thank you so much for helping out our little old town."

"It was no problem." Jonathan smiled.

Nelly and Jonathan handed Jonah their keys. Jonah smiled and put them back on the key rack. Heavy and Jonathan started heading for the entrance. Nelly and I waited back. Jonathan saw this and turned to us and asked, "You guys coming?"

"Yea, give us a second. We need to ask the innkeeper something."

"Okay. Sounds good Nell. We'll meet you outside."

Jonathan turned back around and headed outside to wait for us.

"Excuse me, Jonah. We have a question."

Jonah turned to Nell and replied, "Yes?"

"Well, last night. Shell heard a loud bang in the middle of the night. We wondered if you heard that too?"

"Well, I didn't hear anything last night." Jonah turned to me saying, "Sorry."

"That's okay. Thanks very much."

"No problem." Jonah turned back around and went to his daily duties.

Nelly looked at me and said, "See Shell. I told you."

"I know what I heard Nell."

"Look. We can ask someone else, but I think you just had a bad dream."

I looked at Nell. _She doesn't believe me._ I crossed my arms and stormed outside.

Nelly sighed. "Kids." She came outside and said, "Well, guys. Let's go." We all went to the east exit of the town.

I tried to look around for anyone else I could ask about the loud boom, but no one came in our path. _Ughhh stupid town. Is everyone still sleeping?!_

Jonathan, Heavy, Nelly, and I started heading down the dirt road next to the field. The same field where the light came from. I tried to forget about it, but the more I looked around, the more I thought of it.

Jonathan was ahead of everyone while Heavy and Nelly stayed back. I ran up to Jonathan. I wanted to know if he heard or saw anything.

"Hey, Jonathan."

"Hey, Shell. What's up?"

"I have a question."

"Go ahead…"

"Did you see or hear anything last night?"

"No… why?"

"Nothing? Not a light or a loud boom?"

"No Shell. What are you talking about?"

Shelly sighed. "Nothing Jonathan. Let's just keep walking."

X

It had been twenty-four minutes since the group left town. It was still hot, and the field around them never seemed to end. Jonathan was starting to get antsy. No one had said a word since him and Shell last talked. He had to break the silence before he went crazy.

He went over to Nelly asking, "Soooo… Nelly. What you up to?"

"Walking," Nelly replied.

"I know that. I meant… uhhh…" Jonathan didn't know what to say. He was trying to impress Nelly, but all he did was mess up. He never knew what to say to her. _Why can't I have a normal conversation with her? God, I'm an idiot!_

Nell looked at Jonathan with a confused look. "Yes, Jonathan?"

"Uhhhh… nothing. Sorry."

After that, he went to Heavy. He tried to have a conservation with him, but, it ended up pretty much the same.

"Hey Heavy. Whatcha doing man?"

"Walking…"

There was a pause between the two of them for a few seconds.

"Sounds cool bro. Keep at it." Jonathan said, doing a thumbs up. "Your good at it!"

"Uhhhhh." Heavy turned his head to Jonathan. "You okay?"

"Yea… I'm fine. You keep on walking pal."

He then tried to go up to Shell, but that ended up even worse.

"Hey, She…"

Shell turned to him with a foul look and said, "Shut up."

"K… sounds good. Nice talking to ya."

Shell rolled her eyes and went back to her thoughts.

 _Okay. Seems like everyone is in a bad mood. Whatever. I'll have a conversation with myself!_

 _Sup Jo my boii._

 _Sup bro._

 _Watcha doing?_

 _Nothing much._

 _Nice day, right?_

 _You realize you're acting crazy, right?_

 _What?_

 _Yea. Your talking to yourself._

 _…_ _Shut up._

 _You… you just told yourself to shut up._

 _…_

 _…_

 _Shut up!_

Jonathan put his face into his hand and moaned, "Ughhh, I'm an idiot."

Nelly laughed. "I second that!"

Jonathan grunted. Now he was annoyed. No one wanted to talk to him and he just had an argument with himself. Can things get any more dreadful?!

Before anything else could happen, Shell screamed. We all stopped in our tracks and ran towards her.

Jonathan went up to Shell and asked, "What happened?"

Shelly nervously pointed to an old broken-down wagon. And beside it, a man lying in his own blood.

Nelly covered Shelly's eyes while Jonathan ran towards the man. This man had black-shaggy hair. Not too long, not too short. He seemed to be in decent shape, but his clothes were ragged.

"Well?" Nell asked impatiently.

"This guy is dead?"

"I can see that! How did he die?"

"…It looks like he was stabbed through the stomach with some sort of weapon. But…"

"But what?"

"But… it seems to have healed. I don't see any other injuries that could explain the blood around him. Maybe he died of some kind of disease? But even so, that doesn't explain the amount of blood. And plus, the injury on his stomach is too severe to survive. There would be no way any man could survive an injury like this. It's way too big."

Shell could barely speak. She's seen dead bodies before, but only people that deserved it. This…this is different. This is murder. "Then… then…" Shell tried to ask a question but just started crying again.

Nelly grabbed her and gave her hug. "Shhhh… don't cry. It's okay. Look at me. Not at him."

Jonathan took his hand and placed it on the man's neck, hoping to find a heartbeat.

Nelly turned to Jonathan, "Well. Do you hear something?"

"Nothing… I don't…Wait! I hear something. It's his heartbeat. But it's faint, really faint. We have to get this guy to a doctor! Heavy! Come here. Pick this guy up and let's take him back to town."

Heavy came up to the man, about to pick him up.

"C'mon Heavy!" Nelly shouted. "Get him up!"

Before Heavy could grab the man, the man's eyes opened. He let out a big shriek and started moving backwards.

We all jumped back and took out of swords. The man tried to get up, but he fell back down. He kept yelling, "Get away!"

Shelly ran up to the man. Nelly tried to stop her, but she was too fast for her. "Hey. Hey. Don't worry. We're not here to hurt you. Calm down." Shelly took out her hand, trying to comfort the man.

The man looked at Shelly, then at her hand. He reached out his hand to Shelly's. Shelly helped the man get up.

"Who are you?" Asked Shelly.

The strange man looked at her, then at the rest of the group. He stammered, barely able to speak. He said, "… Damen…"

* * *

Hey guys, I hoped you liked part four! I really enjoyed it. If there was something you did not like about it, let me know! Now onto the IMPORTANT part. While writing this, I decided to change my upload schedule. You see, for part three, I felt a bit rushed. I didn't have a lot of time to write. It was a very hectic week for me, so it ended up not being as great as I wanted it to be. So that is why I will be changing my upload schedule to when I feel like it is ready. But DO NOT worry, it won't take too long. I'll upload often, but I do not want to feel rushed. So, there may be times I upload every few days or weekly or once a month, deepening on what life throws at me. But rest assured, I will not stop uploading. Feel free to pm if you have any questions.


End file.
